Where my stash money goes

February 12, 2019

It was haircut day today - Nigel needed it badly - me not so much so mine is shorter than I am totally happy with but it will grow - and meanwhile there are always brown paper bags!

We have had a couple pf quiet days although we did go and see a film yesterdy - All Is Love. I enjoyed it - but I did feel they could have lit some scenes a bit more. Yes I get that it was 1600s and I get they used candles but once I had accepted that could we have a few more candles please. I hate dark films. Some of the speeches in it were superb and I thogh Kenneth Brannagh was wonderful. I just don't like Judi Dench particularly.

I have also been scrapping - of course. I have been working on my Design Team pages for A Trip Down Memory Lane this month. These two pages are with the utterly gorgeous Prima Georgia Blues which I have loved. They have such beautiful gold foil embossing and are very classic Prima.

This first is a scene in New Hampshire that we just thought was lovely. There is lots of fussy cutting and some dimensional flowers as well.

This one celebrates the newest member of my family - the little baby named after his great great grandfather, my grand father.

Today I am thankful for

being on the design team for A Trip Down Memory Lane and the gorgeous things I get to work with

February 08, 2019

I don't know what the weather had been like in your neck of the woods but the weather here is yucky - yes that is a proper weather term. Yucky. Rainy, very very strong winds and just good old British Grey. At least it is not cold.

I need to update on the RAK of papers. Who knew a hundred sheets of paper were so heavy. They are going to cost a lot to post and whilst I am really happy giving away stuff I didn't want it to also cost me quite so much money so please comment if you are happy to make a small contribution towards the postage. To compensate for that I have also stuck in some embellishments, tags, ribbon etc. Just a few bits for newcomers to try out. But I am offering 4 packs and the postage will come to over £24 for the four (just over £6 each) so a little help towards it from each recipient would be appreciated. I promise you will get a lot for a very little.

Today we went to see Escape Room at the cinema which was very good. I think possibly the worst film I could have gone to see as I am quite claustrophobic ... not so much of small places but of places which don't have an easy exit. I always know where every exit is wherever I am. So it was inevitable it was going to scre the pants off me. And it did.

I have been scrapping but some of it is Design Team work so I cannot share it yet, but I can share this.

This was the sunrise snapped from the car on the day we were finally driving to Disney. It was quite spectacular.

And this page celebrates that we discovered we love French Quarter this year. We loved the breakfast there, the ambiance, the food court. We were happy we were at Riverside but loved the benefit of having both resorts to use.

February 02, 2019

I did manage to get my longed for snow - but it was very little. Yes I know it causes untold disruption but I would have liked a bit more to play in.

It started snowing early evening and as it had been raining I said - and of course I am a weather expert - it won't settle. It did!

By 9 pm I was too excited and so we went out for a walk. No other footprints in the crunching virgin snow other than those of the fox and we could see where he went - up and down every single drive - he was a busy boy (or girl)

I was pleased we went out when we did as by the morning the snow was already thawing quite considerably and even our little road was driveable.

I was reminded, when it did settle, of the time we were in Concord with Nigel's brother and they warned heavy snow was on the way. At that point, I said it wouldn't settle as the ground was too wet. That was April 1st 1997 and the snow didn't only settle, it was the notorious blizzard of 97 that paralysed the entire eastern seaboard and at my brother in law's house, 27 inches fell in 24 hours. Proper snow.

I have been looking at the pictures from the USA (Barb my friend I hope you are OK and staying as warm as you can as I know you are in the affected area) and seeing the pictures of Chicago and Lake Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota. The polar vortex has caused unprecedented levels of cold and I mean real cold. I watch a video of someone throwing a cup of water into the air and it froze immediately, in the air, and formed its very own snow cloud. Now that is proper cold!

So compared to that my snow photos are pathetic but heck - they are all I have.

What do you do when it is cold and icy - yoiu scrap of course.

The challenge this month on FTLOPP is to use ribbon. Oh boy I have a mess of that too. Hundreds of yards of the stuff and I never use it.

So expect to see ribbon appearing on my pages this month.

I will start you off gently - just three quite discrete pieces of coordinating blue and beige spotted ribbon - the photos from Ogunquit beach which we loved.

However, just three small pieces were not going to help with the hideous stash mountain I have so I did another page - which I think you will agree uses some ribbon.

It even busted my xyron and I got covered in glue trying to stick it all down, but heck - it's pretty eh!

January 31, 2019

My Thursday didn't pan out quite as usual but I did manage a lovely wal;k along the beach.

I would hate not to live by the sea - I love it - especially int he winter when it is cold and windy. And I certainly got both of those things today.

I wrapped up warm but my it was cold and my it was windy. I was sandblasted walking one way, against the wind, but the walk back was much quicker as I was pushed along quite nicely.

I have ew scrapping to share with you too

I was pleased with this one for one reason alone ... it is the first time I have ever managed to cut something from a j peg image I found of a lighthouse . It's not perfect but it does kind of work.

It was our very first visit of the very first day of the Fabulous Fall trip and jet lag worked in our favour ensuring we were up, qite literally, at the crack of dawn. Nubble point Maine.

This one was made for the weeklyc hallenge on UKS and it celebrates my cousin. We were brought up so close. Family holidays, trips, christma, birthdays etc all celebrated together and we grew up very close despite the age gap. We lost touch over the years as life kind of got int he way but I am thrilled that we renewed our closeness this summer and that connection means a lot to both of us.

September 29, 2018

My cousin in America - well second cousin but heck - who is counting those generations - has had her new baby. I was worried as they had to evacuate for Hurricane Flornece and evacuation is awful let alone when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant. However they were safe, their home was safe and she has had her new baby and mother and baby are doing well. It is their third child and the other two, a boy and a girl, often feature in my scrapping and they are both drop dead gorgeous and so I am sure their new little brother will be gorgeous too.

The most exciting news is that he has been named for my grandfather, his great great grandfather. How utterly cool is that!

This is the man he had been named for

Nigel had the all clear from his blood tests which was good and I had my flu jab which was OK - they have it off pat and it is a speedy conveyor belt butt he staff still manage to be lovely. It's a bit sore but nothing you wouldn't expect from having a sharp needle pushed in and a vaccination pushed through. Better than flu though.

The weather is still glorious and lunch was on the balcony again. I love that we are still doingt hat and it is almost October. All good then.

This page was a quickly made one for a challenge on UKS. Buzz and Woody - what's not to like.

and there were sales at both Hobbycraft and the Silhouette Store so life is lookin very pretty at the moment!

September 05, 2018

Yesterday turned out unexpectedly nice with a very lazy morning (well I had a lazy morning, Nigel had to dash off to his Mom's) and then we went over to Christchurch as my Doctor wanted me to have a Dexa scan. She felt I ought not to have broken my ribs so easily (I assured her it wasn't easy!) to check for osteoporosis. I am fairly sure I don't. I am the clumsiest person in the world and if I had osteoporosis I am sure I'd have broken a mess of bones. Anyway - the scan was very quick and simple and having not been to Christchurch Hospital for years and years - since I volunteered there when I was 16 - it was all new and shiny and lovely. It seemed rude to drive past a Harvester ont he way home and not get dinner ont he Early Bird Special - two meals with free salad and two drinks for £18 - we were happy bunnies and totally stuffed.

Today we have been for a walk to the local supermarket. I love that the walk there takes us through the heath and it is like living out in the middle of the countryside with all the ameneties of town. Fab. Shopping done I have been paintinga nd scrapping.

I have finished another commission - a dog this time - but I cannot share it yet as the person I have painted it for has not seen it. But I am pleased with it.

September 02, 2018

It is usually me that does the crafting but what readers might not be aware of is that Nigel is just as much a crafter too.

Today he has been making speedway bike. Well not makingt he actual bikes but painting them, designing and printing decals and turninga generic bike into a Poole Speedway 70th anniversary bike. He has made a mess of them and they will be going on sale in the track shop. I am so proud of him. The photos don't do them justice really. The decals are crystal clear and sharp and they are amazingly detailed for something that stands just 4" high.

He is an amazing crafter ... so proud of him.

I am taking part in #scraptember #scraptember2018 and makinga page a day. Not a great challenge for me as there is rarely a day when I don't make a page - but heck - it will keep me focussed.

This is my yesterday page

I loved the cut file although it took ages to fill. I loved the photo - I found it the other day when goingt hrough old photos. It was so typical of my Daddy pulling such a silly face. Goodness I miss them both so much.

This is today's - another cut file - no idea why but because I could I guess.

I wished I hadn't cut it in white as I then didn't like it and had to recolour it all and cover bits. Oh well. It was fun to play

Today I am thankful for

a very creative talented husband

time sittinga nd creating together

sunshine

that he got the massive spider out of the lounge. It was, quite seriously, the biggest spider I have ever ever seen int he house. It was seriously huge - even Nigel was a little put off. We were alerted to it by the cats and then it ran. Oh my how it ran. We always try so hard to not kill spiders but this one was fast and I was hyperventilating and Nigel knew if he lost it we'd have to move! So sadly he bit the dust. I felt guilty but on edge and Nigel had to strip everything off the bed and round the bedroom so I could check before we went to bed that he hadn't sent a friend. And we sprayed evrywhere to within an inch of its life with peppermint spray.

August 27, 2018

I have to say that the girls over at A Trip Down Memory Lane have done a blinder. They have staged an amazing cyber crop with utterly gorgeous classes and great challenges and I am still enjoying playing along.

This features Fiki at his quietest best. When I posted it one of the girls asked what a Fiki is. I explained by saying he was once the most famous cat in the scrapbooking world (someone else awarded that title, not me) He has been in many magazines including Cat magazines when I wrote scrapbooking articles for them too. He is irrepressible, naughty, totally adorable, handsome, hard work and our little boy. He is 15 now and has slowed down a bit but it is still a bit of a relief when he goes to sleep and the mayhem and the 'I have to be with you right up close whatever you are doing and try and play whilst you try to do it' ceases.

It saddens us both that one day we know we will not have that distraction.

This second page probably wouldn't make anyone other than us laugh. Fiki is a cat of routine. He has to do his little routines morning noon and night. In the morning Nigel gets up first and feeds them and then makes our porridge. Fiki does his jobs once he has eaten. His jobs include getting all of the magnets off. But recently he fell in love. His new girlfriend is the towel we keep for wiping down the worktops. It lives on top of the microwave so he goes and 'calls for her' every day, drags her down and loves her to bits. He doesn't like her when she has been washed!

And finally - Nigel doing his very best Joey face (you have to be a Friends fan to get that one) and showing off a very nice bowl he made on our pottery day

Today I am thankful for

a scrappy day

Nigel coming home early - it was the Bank Holiday Speedway meeting today

August 14, 2018

I had a lovely day yesterday. No pain relief needed at all and a lovely friend I used to work with came to visit.

It was so lovely to see Simon. When he left that was one of the final things that made me determined I was going to leave. Simon was such an integral part of what the school used to mean that his leaving had a huge impact on me. I am thrilled he left for the best of reasons and now has his own school and is loving it. But goodness I missed him every day and it is always so good when we get to catch up. Lovely day. However, go figure, bad night. No pain really all day, horrid pain, even with pain relief, all night. No idea why. I think maybe it is the intercostal tendons that are sore now and at times they just go into spasm.

I also finally found a couple of decent bras. You would think that wasn't hard wouldn't you! I always buy my bras from M and S and I always buy them on line. The never have the full range of styles and sizes in store so it is just easier. I have a style I like and stick with it. Well, I figured I did. I ordered the wrong style in three colours first off. Just slightly different but actually bore no resemblance to the bras I love. I think bras are such a key thing to wear. They are not the comfiest thing int he world (hence why they tend to come off as soon as possible when we are slumming at home ladies!) and just the slighest thing I find can turn it from OK to 'Oh my goodness I am in an instrument of torture, get me out get me out get me out!'

And no - I don't get them fitted. I went once and the contraption they put me in which they said was the right size, unlike the size I had been wearing, was an absolute no. I think wearing and all metal bra would have been more comfortable.

Anyway - they had to go back and I finally figured what I had done wrong (they look the same but one style had a bow and one style had an elongated bow but they look identical, same price etc.)

They came and I ordered three colourways and they might as well have sent three different sizes. I did double check they hadn't. They hadn't. One was perfect in every single sense. One was way-way too big and one was - well just off. Very off. Monoboob off. I actually put the three together, thinking maybe my boobs had suddenly changed dramatically between bra one and two and three. They were sooo different. So the perfect one was kept, I reordered the gorgeous magenta one I loved that was way too huge and when the replacement came - the same size - it was perfect. So, long process but new bras and 5 to return! HOW can things vary so much. Hopefully, the issue of finding the right bra has resonated with some of you ... or maybe it is just me!

Went for a lovely walk today and also called into the library to get a few books on watercolours. I figured now I have been painting for a year it might be an idea to learn how to do it properly. I have a very tight and detailed style and I would love to be able to paint more loosely and abstractly. We will see.

I also have new scrapping to share.

This page is not the most artistic I have ever made - though it took an age - but I felt very strongly about it.

I saw the new pictures of the Caribbean Beach resort and how awful the new gondola stanchions look - so close to the buildings, not camouflaged etc. They have ruined our home resort. It was so very very beautiful and tropical and peaceful and they have destroyed it.

I stitched the flap on as I wanted to hide the photos of what it looks like now. The one on the front is the view we knew and loved. It now has a huge pole int he way and what on earth it will be like when the gondola is whizzing overhead I dread to think.

This is a cut file I have had for ages and never used so it was fun to use that yesterday too

July 22, 2018

Today saw a job in Dorchester so we packed lunch and headed out. The job took just 15 minutes and so we headed to Thomas Hardy's cottage near Dorchester. We have been before, of course, but it was somewhere free to go as NT members and it was a lovely day. The walk through the woods was a bit intense for 'rib girl' but she managed it.

Always lovely to look round the cottage. I am a huge Thomas Hardy fan. loving his novels but loving his poetry even more. I was blessed to have his poetry book Wessex Tales and Tess of the D'Urbevilles as set books for A level. The rest of the books I did not enjoy nearly so much as they included Dombey and Son (I think the exam board just picked the thickest, most boring Dickens they could find), Middlemarch (I never did read it all but swore by Coles notes), Chaucer, Washington Square, North and South and two great Shakespeare's in Julius Caesar and Hamlet.

I have new scrapping to share too

This one is a digital page using Fayette Designs and made for the no photo challenge at Pickleberrypop

and this was a complimentary colour scheme page from Shimelle's class and both document my stupid cracked ribs.

Today I am thankful for

days out in the car - only place in this forsaken country with air conditioning

All About Me

I am Scrapdolly - frequently answering to just Dolly. I live with my soulmate Nigel, two cats and a Fiki monster and I love to scrap. Scrapping is my creative outlet, my daily therapy, my sanity restorer and where I meet my friends. Come share it with me.